Question: Yesterday Ali caught $12$ bugs. Today he caught $17$ bugs. How many fewer bugs did Ali catch yesterday than today?
Answer: To find how many fewer bugs Ali caught, we start with the number of bugs he caught ${\text{today}}$ and subtract how many bugs he caught ${\text{yesterday}}$. $17$ $12$ $?$ Today's bugs Yesterday's bugs fewer bugs ${17} - {12} = {\Box}$ Let's subtract to find the number of ${\text{fewer bugs}}$. $$ $$ $$ ${-}$ $$ $$ ${=}$ $$ $$ $$ ${17} - {12} = {5}$ Ali caught ${5}$ fewer bugs yesterday.